Not many people realise you can eat Muntjac. These little Chinese deer came over to the UK with the Duke of Bedford for his deer park at Woburn Abbey. They quickly spread and can now be found almost everywhere. The meat is dense and flavoursome. It can be treated like lamb in lots of ways as it is delicious both pink and slow cooked. We use it in this recipe as it holds its texture very well and makes a wonderful winter feast. Buy fresh dried tagliatelle for this, De Cecco do a good one.

The key to this dish is using freshly ground spices. We use an old coffee grinder that belonged to my mother. They can be picked up in car boot sales for next to nothing these days and are incredibly useful.